Ajaltoun عجلتون | |
|---|---|
Municipality | |
  Ajaltoun Location within Lebanon | |
| Coordinates:33°58′4″N35°41′6″E / 33.96778°N 35.68500°E /33.96778; 35.68500 | |
| Country |  Lebanon |
| Governorate | Keserwan-Jbeil |
| District | Keserwan |
| Area | |
• Total | 6.12 km2 (2.36 sq mi) |
| Lowest elevation | 850 m (2,790 ft) |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
| Dialing code | +961 |
Ajaltoun (Arabic:عجلتون) is a town and municipality in theKeserwan District of theKeserwan-Jbeil Governorate inLebanon. It is located 24 km (15 miles) north ofBeirut. Ajaltoun's average elevation is 850 meters (2800') above sea level and its total land area is 612hectares (1510 acres).[1] The municipality consists of a twelve-member council, which as of 2008 was headed by Clovis el Khazen. In addition to the municipal council, twomukhtars (headmen), Georges Fersan and Antoine Harouni, also serve the town.[1] The Virgin Mary Church, built by theKhazen sheikhs in 1647, the Saint Nicolas Church and the Mar Shalita Monastery are located in Ajaltoun.[1] The town was also the site of fighter plane crash duringWorld War I.
Ajaltoun's name comes from theArabic root word′aajel, which could mean "calf", "to roll" or "wheel". An alternative theory for the town's etymology are that it originates from the Phoenician word for "statue" or "round area".[1]
Ottoman tax records indicate Ajaltoun had 23 Christian households and three bachelors in 1523, 19 Muslim households and one bachelor in 1530, and 19 Christian households in 1543.[2] TheKhazen family ofBallouneh in Keserwan settled in the village in 1606.[3]
Ajaltoun had an estimated population of 10 000, who live in a total of 2,500 homes and operate 175 businesses. In 2009, there were 2,524 registered voters in the town.[1] Most of the inhabitants areMaronite Catholics,[1] although there are minorities ofMelkite Catholics andGreek Orthodox Christians.[4] The principal families in relative order of size are Sfeir, Ghosn, Harouni, Khalife, Mdawar, Zoghbi, Mrad, Ghanem, Khazen, Abi Chaker and Kassis.[1]
The main source of income in Ajaltoun is derived fromtourism, and there are four hotels and seven restaurants in the town. An annual festival dedicated to Saint Zakhia is held in Ajaltoun in the last days of August.[1]
There are five schools in Ajaltoun, including Ajaltoun Public School, Mar Mansour Sisters for Charity and the Ajaltoun Foundation for Arts.[1] TheAntonine International School, an institute for higher education, is also located in Ajaltoun.
